Assembly tool for lock cylinders



F 1 1936- R w. GRWTH Y 2,031,159

ASSEMBLY TOOL FOR LOCK CYLINDERS Filed April 8, 1935 f duo/0mm ECW47770117 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ASSEMBLY TOOL FORLOCK CYLINDERS Application April 8, 1935, Serial No. 15,268 Claims.(Cl.2989) This invention relates to the manufacture and assembly oflocks and refers more particularly to the assembly of lock cylinders.

It is an object of this invention to provide a 6 simple tool tofacilitate the assembling of tumblers in the cylinder to fit any givenkey change.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for holding thecylinder during the assembling of the tumblers therewith and alsochecking the correctness of the combination of tumblers.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of thehereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device showing a partiallyassembled lock cylinder in place therein;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the cylinder properly assembledand the manner in which the tumblers are secured in position; and

Figure 4 is 'an end view with parts broken away and in section to showhow the cylinder is held in place in the tool.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing in whichlike numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, thenumeral 5 designates the body of the tool which comprises substantiallya solid rectangular block preferably formed of metal and having a bore 6extending therethrough from its front face 1 to its rear face 8. Alongitudinal groove 9 is formed in one side of the bore, anddiametrically opposite the groove 9 is a set screw [0 threaded in theblock with its inner end projectible into the bore 6.

The top of the block has a slot H breaking through the upper portion ofthe bore 6 to provide access to the bore from the top of the tool.Pivotally mounted on the top face of the block is an arm l2, the freeend of which is positionable over the slot l I, and to facilitateswinging the arm to and from its position disposed over the slot ll, itsouter extremity is bent up to form a handle portion l3.

The free end of the arm 12 also has a rivet l4 fixed thereto, the headof which is lowermost and shaped to form a shoe l5 curved transverselywith respect to the arm for a purpose to be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

The bore 6 is of such size as to snugly receive a lock cylinder l6 whichis inserted therein from its front end after the required tumblers (notshown) and tumbler springs I! are assembled. with the cylinder. The lockfor which this tool is designed is of the type shown in Patent No.1,965,336 issued to John W. Fitzgerald on July 3rd, 1934. In this lookthe key operable tumblers do not project from the cylinder, but controla locking bar l8 which is projectible from the side of the cylinder.

In assembling the lock, the tumblersare inserted in the usual pockets 19formed in the cylinder and springs 11 are disposed over the tumblers. Tohold the tumblers and springs in the cylinder, a retainer bar 20 issecured to the cylinder. This retainer, as shown in Figure 2, has aplurality of prongs or tines 2| which engage in the outer ends of thesprings and its ends 22 are turned downwardly to be received in suitablepockets or recesses formed in the cylinder. Staking over a portion ofthe cylinder, as at 23 (see Figure 3) holds the retainer bar in place.

As is well known, tumbler locks are arranged in accordance with codenumbers which represent different combinations or key changes. In thelock to which this invention is directed, the codes consist of numeralsrepresenting the tumbler positions, that is, the positions of thetumblers in the cylinder, and letters representing the tumbler depths.Each letter indicates a tumbler cut to a definite depth, and to identifythe difierent tumblers they are furnished in diiferent colors, a colorbeing provided for each depth. The colors used are copper, black, nickeland yellow, and the letters C, B, N and Y are used in the codedesignations to represent these respective tumbler depths.

To adapt a lock cylinder to a particular key change, the differentcolored tumblers are selected in accordance with the combination asrepresented by the code designations and are dropped into the tumblerreceiving pockets or recesses [9 of the cylinder in proper sequnce asdetermined by reference to the code designation. After all the tumblersare properly assembled with the cylinder, one tumbler spring ispositinned above each tumbler. Then with the tumblers and their springsin position, the retainer bar 20 is applied, care being taken that itssix prongs or tines 2| each slip into one of the springs.

The retainer bar is then pressed down and held in position while thecylinder is inserted into the bore 6.

After being placed in the tool with the retainer 20 uppermost and thelocking bar I8 in line with the groove 9, the lever I2 is swung over theopen slot II which causes the shoe 15 on its outer extremity to ride uponto the retainer 20 and hold the same in place. With the lock cylinderthus disposed in the bore 6, the correctness of the combination ischecked by inserting the proper key into the cylinder and rotating thecylinder. If the cylinder is properly set up, it will turn, otherwisethe bar l8 will not be released and the cylinder cannot be rotated inwhich case the cylinder must be removed and the tumblers reset in theirproper sequence. If the cylinder rotates during the checking it isreturned to its original position and the key withdrawn.

The set screw I is then tightened to securely hold the cylinder in placeand with the cylinder thus secured in the bore, the retainer is securedin place by staking over the portions 23 of the cylinder through themedium of a staking tool 24 in the manner shown in Figure 3. With theretainer 20 properly secured in position in this manner, the set screwis released and the cylinder removed from the bore 6.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art towhich this invention appertains, that the tool of this invention greatlyfacilitates the correct assembling of tumblers in lock cylinders andthat it has the advantage of not only holding the cylinder while thetumblers are secured in place, but also aifords means for checking thecombination.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A tool of the character described comprising a block having a boreadapted to receive a lock cylinder and having a slot opening into thebore from one face of the block, means for holding a cylinder insertedinto the bore in a position with its tumblers accessible through saidopen slot, and means carried by the block and movable to a positiondisposed over the open slot to hold the tumblers of the cylinder inplace.

2. A tool for use in assembling lock cylinders having tumblersinsertable into open pockets in the cylinder and held in place by aretainer securable to the cylinder, comprising a block having a bore toreceive the cylinder and having an open slot communicating with the boreto align with the open pockets and tumbler retainer of a cylinder inplace in the bore, and means carried by the block and positionable overthe open slot to hold the retainer in place while said retainer is beingsecured to the cylinder.

3. A tool to facilitate the proper assembling of lock cylinders of thetype in which a locking bar is projectable from the side of the cylinderby the tumblers and in which the tumblers are inserted into open pocketsin the cylinder and held in place by a retainer bar carried by thecylinder, comprising a block having a bore to snugly receive thecylinder and having a; groove communicating with the bore to receive thelocking bar of the cylinder and an open slot communicating with thecylinder at a point to align with the open ends of the tumbler pocketsin the cylinder and the tumbler retainer when the cylinder is inposition in the bore with its locking bar aligned with the groove, andmeans carried by the block and positionable over the open slot to holdthe retainer bar in place so as to permit checking the look by insertionof a proper key into the cylinder and turning the same and to facilitatesecuring the retainer bar to the cylinder.

4. A tool of the character described comprising a block of metal havinga bore transversely therethrough and having an open slot breaking intothe top of the bore, a lever pivoted to the top of the block with itsouter extremity positionable across the open slot, and a shoe carried bythe extremity of the lever and adapted to be disposed in the slot tosubstantially bridge the slot at one point with the lower surface of theshoe substantially in line with the circumference of the bore when thelever is swung to its position having its free end disposed across theslot.

5. A tool of the character described comprising a block having a boretransversely therethrough and having an open slot breaking into the thetop of the bore from the top face of the block and also having a grooveopening to the bore and disposed substantially at right angles to theopen slot, a set screw threaded in the block with its end projectableinto the bore to hold an article in the bore, and an arm pivoted to thetop face of the block and swingable to a position with its free endacross the open slot to partially close the slot.

RAYMOND W. GRIFFITH.

